Contents

Background

Life as Obito

On the day that he was to become a student at the Academy, Obito arrived late to the opening ceremony. Believing that he had arrived too late he is relieved when Rin hands him his orientation-documents. When Obito eventually graduated at the age of 9, he was placed in a team with Rin and Kakashi under the leadership of Minato Namikaze. The team later took part in the Chūnin Exams, where Obito arrived late for the second round in the Forest of Death having stopped to help an elderly woman with her baggage, leaving his team-mates waiting at the gate.[6]

While in the forest, they were confronted by a team consisting of Might Guy, Genma Shiranui and Ebisu. Obito, wanting to impress Rin, immediately attacked the group, but as he seemingly prepared to use a Fire Release technique, he choked on the sweet the elderly woman had given him and was knocked out by Guy. In the gap between the second and third rounds of the examination, Obito trained arduously to hone his skills and expressed his pride in his clan as well as his dream to become Hokage as their sensei had in his conversations with Rin. He was, however, eliminated in the third round when he fought Might Guy; Kakashi, by defeating Guy in turn, was able to advance to the rank of chūnin. Some years later Obito would also achieve the rank, but this was overshadowed by Kakashi becoming a jōnin and the subsequent surprise celebration Rin was planning for him.[6]

During the Third Shinobi World War, Kakashi was placed in charge of the team for a mission to destroy the Kannabi Bridge, which would hinder Iwagakure from using Kusagakure which they had been using as an integral relief point of sorts. Before beginning the mission, the team gave gifts to Kakashi to celebrate his recent promotion to jōnin. Although Minato and Rin brought their gifts for Kakashi, Obito had forgotten. This strained the already-poor relationship between Kakashi and Obito, which Minato did his best to mend. After defeating Mahiru, Minato soon headed for the front-lines to assist Konoha's forces, leaving the team to carry out their mission alone. The three were subsequently discovered by Iwa ninja and Rin was captured.[7]

Kakashi elected to abandon Rin, believing it was more important to finish the mission before concerning themselves with her. Obito became enraged by the idea and insisted that they focus on her rescue. Kakashi would not be convinced and Obito left to save Rin by himself, remarking that, "those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Obito located the cave where Rin was being kept, but before he could stage an assault he was found and attacked by a camouflagedTaiseki. Kakashi, having had a change of heart because of Obito's parting words, arrived in time to shield Obito from Taiseki's attack, although his left eye was badly damaged in the process. To save his team-mate, Obito awakened his Sharingan and used it to see through Taiseki's camouflage and kill him.[8]

Obito and Kakashi entered the cave and released Rin from her restraints, prompting Kakkō to start a cave-in to trap them inside. They tried to make it for the exit but Kakashi had difficulty avoiding the falling rocks because of his damaged eye. When Obito noticed that Kakashi was about to be hit by a falling boulder, Obito pushed him out of the way and became trapped beneath the rubble in his place. With the right half of his body completely pinned, Obito knew that he could not escape. Obito accepted his fate and made an offering: to give Kakashi his left Sharingan as an apology for forgetting to get him a present earlier.[9]

Obito trapped beneath the boulder.

Rin performed the transplant and, once the procedure was finished, Kakashi used his new Sharingan to kill Kakkō. Iwagakure reinforcements quickly began to further constrict the rubble, forcing Kakashi and Rin to leave Obito behind after some final farewells. As the rocks tightened around him, Obito reflected that he had finally started to get along with Kakashi and that he couldn't confess to Rin that he loved her. Minato arrived soon afterwards and saved Kakashi and Rin from the Iwagakure ninja.[10] Though believed dead, the cave in took Obito deep underground where he was somehow saved by an elderly Madara Uchiha. Though his Sharingan was miraculously unharmed, the entire side of his body from the neck down was completely destroyed.[11]

Coming to, mistaking Madara for the angel of death before realising he is still alive, Obito learns from his saviour that most of his body has been grafted with parts from Hashirama's living clone. Madara added that Obito owes him his life and will repay it in due time. But as Obito wanted to return to Konoha to aid his friends, Madara explained that he could not leave as his body needs to fully recuperate and used to its new parts. Madara preached to Obito the harsh nature of the reality they live in while formally introducing himself, Obito refused to listen, desperate to return to his village.[12] However, due to his physical condition despite his determination to return to his friends, Obito is left with no choice but to remain with Madara.[13] Left with White Zetsu and a spiral-patterned clone while Madara rested, Obito contemplated how long he had been in the cave as he eventually befriends the two artificial beings while undergoing strenuous rehabilitation in order to finally use his limbs.[14]

One day, during the course of his rehabilitation, White Zetsu alerts Obito to the fact that aboveground, Kakashi and Rin were being surrounded by Kirigakure shinobi. Obito attempts to break a wall to get out to help them, but only succeeds in destroying his right arm and barely cracking the wall. Seeing Obito's desire to save his friends, the spiral-patterned Zetsu attached itself to Obito to enable him to go to the surface. A grateful Obito thanked the clone as he prepared to leave.[15] With the clone attaching himself to the living clone to access the power of the statue, Obito's augmented strength allowed him to break the boulder blocking one of the passage ways. He then expressed his gratitude to Madara, albeit proclaiming that he has no intention on returning. As they mobilise, Obito receives intel about what was happening on the battlefield, noting Minato's precarious absence.[16]

Initially, Obito refused Spiral Zetsu's offer to fight the Kirigakure-nin in his stead, noting that Kakashi had his other Sharingan and that their combination would be better. Ignoring images of Rin that originate from his left eye socket, Obito arrives to the location identified by the clone, eventually witnessing Kakashi's hand run through Rin's chest.[16] The sight of Rin's death caused a shocked and enraged Obito to awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan, slaughtering all of the Kirigakure-nin using a combination of Kamui and Wood Release. When the enemy ninja attempted to retrieve Rin's body, Obito's rage and confusion escalates further, leading him to mercilessly kill them by crushing their bodies in between giant branches. Standing in a puddle of his enemies' blood, Obito came to the conclusion that he was in hell as he looked upon Rin's lifeless body.[17]

Becoming Tobi

Returning to Madara soon after, the events of Rin's death have traumatised Obito and shattered his resolve. Obito ultimately he came to the conclusion that Madara's ideals are an absolute with the notion that a reality without Rin is one that is worthless and should be destroyed.[18] With this Obito joins forces with Madara to aid him in his Eye of the Moon Plan, Obito would eventually cast aside his given name and take up the alias of Tobi. At some point following Madara's death, Tobi adopted the legendary shinobi's identity to continue their agenda.

Tsunade cited that Tobi may have adopted this name in order to take advantage of the power and terror associated with the name alone.[19] Because of the many infamous acts Madara carried out during his lifetime (such as acquiring an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan), few are surprised that Madara could still be alive after such a long time. They take the crimes that Tobi commits under Madara's name as further confirmation that he is really Madara, as only Madara would be capable of such deeds. Tobi also possesses knowledge of things that only the real Madara would know, such as Nagato's existence and abilities.[20] Furthermore, Tobi has claimed that he encouraged Yahiko to form the Akatsuki and that he "gave" the Rinnegan to Nagato.[21]

Until the events of Part II, Tobi operated in secret, only using Madara's name during his private meetings with Nagato, who took on the name of Pain and became the figurehead of the Akatsuki since Yahiko's death. Prior to becoming a member of the group, Tobi posed as a subordinate of Zetsu to oversee the operations of the organisation and directly influence future events.

Tobi threatening to kill Naruto.

Twelve years before the start of the series, Tobi discovered that Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki and Minato's wife, would be giving birth, causing the seal keeping the Kurama contained within her to weaken. Intending to use the Nine-Tails, Tobi tracked her down and took the newborn Naruto Uzumaki hostage to keep Minato from interfering.[22]

Tobi and Minato clash.

Once he extracted the beast, Tobi placed the tailed beast under his control and ordered it to destroy Konoha.[23] Using his space–time technique to keep Minato from going to the village's defence, keeping his true identity a secret, Tobi engaged Minato before being hit by a Rasengan and branded with Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique. Wounded with Minato's Contract Seal removing the Nine-Tails from his control, Tobi fled while vowing to regain the Nine-Tails and that he still had other plans.[24]

Eight years after the Nine-Tails' attack, the Uchiha clan having been scapegoated and ostracised as the full story of the event died with Minato and his wife, Tobi infiltrated Konoha to rekindle the flames of war. He was found by Itachi Uchiha first, who thought he was Madara and convinced Tobi to spare the village in exchange for helping to wipe out the Uchiha clan. Tobi complied, training Itachi and providing assistance.[25][26] Around that time, Tobi also met with Danzō Shimura.[27] At some point in time, Tobi also took control of the Fourth Mizukage, in effect making him the "real" Mizukage. Kisame Hoshigaki was one of the few Kirigakure ninja to know of his manipulation of the Fourth and helped Tobi in his quest to bring about an end to the "world of lies".[28]

Personality

In his youth, Obito was constantly late, which more often than not, was due to the good deeds he had stopped to do, which usually had to do with aiding the elderly.[29] Having made it a point in his life to do so, he noted that he knew all the elderly persons in Konoha,[30] stopped once on his way to the Chūnin Exams to help an elderly woman carry her luggage,[31] and even comically offered to clean Madara's nether regions when he met him.[32] Obito was also easily moved to tears, which he always insisted was because he had gotten something in his eyes despite wearing goggles. Obito was in love with Rin; but his feelings were not mutual as Rin was attracted to Kakashi instead. Obito was frustrated by this, and envied Kakashi's prodigious skills, and so constantly sought to surpass him. Although these efforts usually ended in failure, he was able to spend time with Rin while she treated his injuries. Ultimately, Obito would never get the chance to reveal his feelings to Rin before his "death". As Kakashi noted, besides his student's rivalry with Sasuke and one-sided feelings for a female team-mate, Naruto shared other beliefs Obito had, such as his desire to become Hokage and never abandoning comrades on the battlefield. Even after "dying", Obito still cared deeply for his friends and village, and immediately wanted to return,[33] though upon witnessing Kakashi taking Rin's life, his determination shattered, and his personality forever changed.

By the time he became an adult, after the events at Kannabi Bridge and the death of Rin, Obito's personality changed drastically as he became extremely focused, calm and serious; from his former loyalty and care that seems to be derived from the Will of Fire, he now claims to have inherited the Uchiha clan's Curse of Hatred. While frequently arrogant about his own abilities and disrespectful of those he considers as weak, he is not above giving praise to his enemies, such as his former teacher Minato for being able to wound him. He has also forsaken his dream of being Hokage and ideals of camaraderie, and ridiculed Naruto for having both attributes. This arrogance was extended towards Kakashi Hatake despite the two being former friends and team-mates, praising his speed while berating him not to open his mouth so easily. Although he expressed his reasons for not revealing his identity was due to Kakashi letting Rin die, Obito does not seem to blame Kakashi, instead blaming the "worthless reality" they both live in. Nonetheless, his love for Rin appears to be one of his defining features carried into adulthood and her death had a role in creating his current personality; he came to believe that reality is hell solely based on her death. Adult Obito also gets along well with Zetsu, which dates back to his friendship with White Zetsu when Madara saved him.

Obito has also shown an aggressive and sadistic side, a direct contrast to his youth. This was first shown when he attacked his village and held his former teacher's infant son hostage before extracting the Nine-Tails from its jinchūriki, an action that led to the deaths of Minato and Kushina. He mercilessly killed Torune in order to be reincarnated moments later by using Fū as a sacrifice, all for the purpose of testing Kabuto's abilities. After being outed as a fake "Madara" by Naruto, Obito displayed a more nihilistic personality, as he declared that his name was meaningless whether as "Madara", "Tobi" or "Obito", that he was and will be a nobody, and that he could not care less about who he was.[34] He nevertheless remains fiercely committed to his Eye of the Moon Plan, vowing to do anything to see it completed despite his conflicting opinions, and that nothing else matters.[35] This nature continued after his mask was destroyed, after telling Kakashi that his name was utterly meaningless to him.

When first introduced as "Tobi", Obito acted the role of the happy-go-lucky idiot, who annoyed most members of the Akatsuki, particularly Deidara, who frequently attacked Obito in a comedic fashion. Kisame, on the other hand, appreciated Obito's ability to brighten up a gloomy organisation such as theirs.[36] In the anime, Obito is shown keeping up this charade even when no-one was around. Eventually, Obito discards his role as a fool after Deidara's death and used it one final time to distract the Eight Man Squad during Sasuke's battle with Itachi.

Obito is a master of manipulation, either by subtly corrupting his target's own goals, omitting parts of stories or events to his own benefit as he did with Sasuke, or by appearing to share their beliefs. This is best seen in the existence of the Akatsuki, its wildly-differing members working together because they believe the organisation furthers their own ends; in actuality they are mere tools that further Obito's agenda as noted with the case of Nagato. He often avoids responsibility for the influence he has over others, claiming those he coerced and manipulated followed him willingly. Revealing Itachi's true history and motives with Sasuke to win his services was the first of many gambles Obito takes. Even though Sasuke does not always live up to his expectations, such as being unable to defeat the five Kage, Obito is nevertheless happy with his "development": his developing Sharingan and his growing isolation from all other allies.[37] While he has threatened to kill Sasuke at times and even offered to turn him over to others, Obito remains attached to Sasuke, at least until he no longer has use for him.[38]

Appearance

As a child, Obito had short, spiky, black hair and black eyes. He wore a long sleeved blue uniform with metal plating on the part that reached the back of his hands, as well as a blue jacket with an orange collar and trimmings. The jacket was fastened to the rest of the outfit by two buttons on the collar, and has the Uchiha clan crest at the back. He also wore a white belt, shinobi sandals, the standard Konoha forehead protector, and a pair of goggles with orange lens connected to ear protectors. After he was retrieved from the Land of Grass, Madara replaced his destroyed right side with artificial substance from Hashirama's living clone. The right side of his face still remains heavily scarred. During his rehabilitation, Obito grew his hair out.[39] He eventually cut it back down to the short length as in his childhood some time before the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha. During his meetings with Itachi and Kisame respectively, Obito was seen with long hair yet again, but he later cut it back to its usual style permanently.

As Tobi, Obito created an orange mask with spiral-pattern that only shows his right eye. Under his Akatsuki cloak, he wears a black long-sleeve top that also covers his neck and chin, a pair of black gloves, and a pair of dark-coloured pants along with the standard Akatsuki shoes and white stirrups. On his waist, he wears a thick black belt with armour-like metal plates attached to it. He wore the same metal plates on his shoulders with a green scarf before becoming Deidara's partner.[40] He wore blue nail polish on his fingers and toes (black in the manga). As Tobi, he wore Sasori's ring on his left thumb.

After he acquired the Rinnegan, Obito started wearing a new mask made of strong materials suited for the looming Fourth Shinobi World War. The mask was white with a purple tint that covers the entire upper-half of Obito's head with a design that resembled the Ten-Tails' eye, consisting of a ripple-pattern with three tomoe around the centre; two of these tomoe acted as the mask's eye-holes. He wears a pair of black pants and gloves, with a white, presumed form-fitting shirt underneath.[41] Over this he wears a purple, high-collared, long sleeve mantle that splits down the lower half and has the Uchiha crest on the back. Around his waist he wears a simple, light-purple obi and a belt. Strapped to his back, he carries a purple gunbai with black trimmings and black tomoe, connected to a black chain that runs up his right sleeve.[42]

Abilities

As an Uchiha clan member, Obito had some skill as a ninja in his younger years, as he became a chūnin at the age of 11 though he appeared inferior in skill to most of his classmates such as Might Guy or Kakashi. As an adult, his overall abilities developed to such an extent that most of the ninja world, including top-level and perceptive shinobi such as his teacher Minato among others believed his claim of being Madara Uchiha, due to the fact that the magnitude of his various feats could only be accomplished by a shinobi of that level. As such Obito became strong enough to go up against multiple top-level shinobi. He was capable of going one-to-one against his former teacher Minato Namikaze, after only a few years of his supposed "death", who was Hokage at the time and defeated the S-rankkunoichi, Konan. He is also capable of holding his own in a one-on-four battle against Naruto, Killer B, Might Guy and Kakashi.

His chakra levels are immense, enough to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and Nine-Tails as well as maintain full control over his jinchūriki Six Paths of Pain. This constant use of summons and third parties has become one of the key elements of Obito's fighting style.

Taijutsu

As a child, Obito was fairly skilled with taijutsu. After awakening his Sharingan, his hand-to-hand abilities improved as he was better able to read and now even predict his opponents movements to the point that he was able to effectively counter Kakkō — an experienced Iwa-nin's attacks. He also displayed skill in coordinated attacks alongside Kakashi using his Sharingan.[43] As an adult, Obito's skills grew tremendously. Due to his artificial body, his physical strength increased tremendeously, enough to crack a wall shortly after his rehabilitation,[44] in later years stop a slash from Suigetsu's Kubikiribōchō with his bare arm, without getting injured,[45] hold Konan off the ground by her throat,[46] and strangle a Konoha ANBU to death,[47] each time using only one hand. Aside from his physical strength, Obito also developed massive endurance, enough to withstand the damage caused by a direct Rasengan strike without having his movements impaired. Obito has also displayed a great level of speed.

Obito is also able to use Wood Release after acquiring artificial limbs made from Hashirama Senju's DNA. His aptitude with this was shown during his assault on several Kirigakure-nin after Rin had died. With it, he could produce branches and spikes from his body, which he could then use to drive into opponents, literally skewering them on branches. They could also be used as projectiles as well on a larger scale.[51] With Wood Release, Obito also possesses water and earth release, the latter which was already mentioned.[52]

Throughout the series, Obito has lost and replaced his right arm several times.[53][54] These limbs are later revealed to be artificial constructs, created from Hashirama's living clone which were used by Madara to replace Obito's destroyed right side. These constructs are expendable and replaceable as seen when Obito had his arm replaced several times and are similar in nature to that of White Zetsu and its clones. When damaged the area oozes a white substance instead of blood.[55] This artificial right side also possess a degree of regenerative capabilities, as Obito's arm and shoulder seemingly managed to repair itself from the damage caused by Naruto's Rasengan.[56] Having Hashirama's cells replace the entire right half of his body enables Obito to survive without food or water.[57]

Dōjutsu

Sharingan

When Obito first awakened his Sharingan it already had two tomoe and he was able to take immediate advantage of it despite his inexperience.[58] His eye gained three tomoe after witnessing Rin's death, moments before his Mangekyō Sharingan awakened.[59] After giving up his original left eye to Kakashi, Obito obtained a new left Sharingan eye and has multiple Sharingan placed in storage should he need them. As an adult, Obito seems to be able to keep his Sharingan active at all times with minimal drain on his chakra levels. He can use his Sharingan to perform various genjutsu such as forcing Konan to revealing the whereabouts of Nagato's body,[60] and trapping both Fū and Torune in a genjutsu for a considerable amount of time.[61]

Like Madara, Obito can use his Sharingan to place tailed beasts under his control, the control more effective on a single target with some difficulty when controlling more than one at the same time, allowing the beasts to temporarily break free in such instances.[62][63] Obito can also perform Izanagi, a technique the Uchiha deemed a kinjutsu since the user's Sharingan is stricken with blindness and sealed away forever. While there are normally limits on how long Izanagi can remain active, Obito used Hashirama's DNA to extend the length of his Izanagi, allowing him to keep it going for five minutes while only losing one of his replacement left eyes.[64]

Mangekyō Sharingan

Obito awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan after witnessing Rin's death at the hands of Kakashi.[59] The eye itself, naturally, has the same design as Kakashi's and is reminiscent of a pin-wheel. It is through his Mangekyō Sharingan that he is able to perform his space-time ninjutsu, Kamui.[65]

This ability grants Obito the use of two distinct, yet similar, abilities that do not appear whenever Kakashi Hatake uses the technique: teleportation, and another best described as "intangibility". The eye serves as a gateway to another dimensional space, which he can instantly send parts of his body to and bring back from. This causes him to seem "intangible" in the original dimension; when struck, attacks pass right through him, though he sometimes pretends to be hurt or cry out in pain to toy with his opponents.[66] Obito must become solid in order to interact with others, leaving him susceptible to counter-attack when he does so. He can only make himself continuously intangible for about five minutes.[67] He can extend this intangibility to whatever he's touching at the time.[68]

Obito using his Space–Time Ninjutsu, Kamui.

The second part of his Kamui is to travel long distances within relatively short time-spans. While he is usually seen using this ability on himself, avoiding attacks rather than relying on his imperiousness, he can teleport anyone by making physical contact with them. Once teleported the targets are forced to stay there until he chooses to release them. The chakra signatures of those that have been teleported completely vanish as they enter another dimension.[69] When being transported in this way, the target appears to be sucked into his right eye. Obito must remain solid while this teleportation is used, and it takes longer to absorb himself than it does someone or something else.[70] Minato Namikaze commended Obito's space-time ninjutsu, dubbing it more versatile than both his own and Tobirama Senju's.[23]

Overall Obito favours using his intangibility for defence, letting his opponents and their techniques phase through him and absorbing them while they are off-guard. This became such a key element in Obito's fighting style that he rarely resorts to more traditional forms of ninjutsu. The only reliable counter to this technique has been Kakashi's own Kamui, ironically used by the counterpart, left eye; objects warped away by Kamui are sent to the same dimension which can then harm the part of Obito that may exist in the other dimension at that time.[71] Because of the ability to warp himself and the fact that the eyes share the same dimensional void, Obito is "immune" in a sense, to Kakashi's use of this technique on him.[72]

Obito has also shown the capability to combine his Kamui with his fire nature to create a vortex of flames known as Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance.[49] He can also use his Kamui to unleash various weapons from the eye's pocket dimension at very high speeds, giving his opponents little time to react.

Obito could use the Kamui casually and extensively without fatigue due to his enormous chakra reserves, and does not seem to show any signs of eyesight deterioration, whereas most other people using the Mangekyō Sharingan would use techniques sparingly due to the high amounts of chakra required and the continuous usage would accelerate one's blindness.

Obito used the Rinnegan to duplicate Nagato's Six Paths of Pain, made from the reincarnatedjinchūriki by embedding chakra receivers in their bodies, allowing him to manipulate them. Each one also has the same eyes as he does (a right Sharingan and a left Rinnegan), allowing him to see what they see and coordinate their movements. By combining the Demonic Statue with the Outer Path ability, he was able to reseal the tailed beasts into their respective jinchūriki and use their powers freely as well as create chakra chains that he used to suppress their power. Obito is able to use the chains to drag the beasts he controls into his own body or reseal them instantly inside the Statue.[74]

Equipment

As an adult, Obito has been shown with various weapons over the years. During the Fourth Shinobi World War he began carrying the war fan that Madara Uchiha was famous for during his life. Attached to the gunbai is a chain that is connected to Obito, which allows him to use his fan in a similar manner to that of a flail, as an alternate means of attacking and defending, as well as a method to get within proximity to absorb his enemies. The gunbai is also extremely durable, enough to block a Rasengan without any visible damage to it.[35]

Obito using chains in his battle with Minato.

In his fight with Minato, he used a long chain attached to braces on his wrist, resembling shackles. He used this in conjunction with his ability to become intangible, first allowing the adversary to harmlessly pass through his body before solidifying once again as they emerged from the other side, restraining them with the trailing chain.[23]

Upon first activating his Mangekyō Sharingan and using the Wood Release: Cutting Technique, there were multiple chakra receivers among the branches of the technique that extended off his right side. Though after releasing the two techniques, the receivers seemed to vanish along with them.[51] Upon implanting Nagato's Rinnengan, Obito displayed a wider use of the chakra receivers. By implanting a single chakra receiver within the left breast of the former jinchūriki, Obito was able to control and manipulate them entirely as well as force them to adopt their jinchūriki transformations at will. He also has giant stakes, used to stab enemies and produce chakra chains that can restrain a tailed beast.[75]

Just before the Uchiha clan massacre, when meeting with Itachi, Obito was seen carrying a sword at his waist.[76] He also possesses a set of giant shuriken stored in the other dimension, which he can instantly bring out to surprise and attack his foes.[77] The mask that he wears during the Fourth Shinobi World War has been specifically designed for combat, making it very durable.[78] However the mask wasn't durable enough to withstand a Tailed Beast Mode-enhanced Rasengan.[79]

Intelligence

As an adult, Obito is an observant and sharp thinker, capable of reading through several forms of deception. He can formulate complicated plans well in advance and accurately predict how others will act in a given set of circumstances. Even on the rare occasions where Obito is caught off-guard he is capable of creating counter-strategies while maintaining a calm and composed demeanour. He is flexible when the situation calls for it, using alternate means to achieve his objective when his original plan fails.

He possesses a vast knowledge of the ninja world, which allows him to almost immediately identify most forms of ninjutsu and counter them if necessary. He has also studied various individuals or groups for quite some time, aware of Guy's poor memory for faces, familiar with lesser-known abilities of the Aburame clan, and even knowing well-kept secrets like when and where Kushina Uzumaki would give birth. His knowledge extends far enough back through history that he regards stories of the Sage of the Six Paths as fact, whereas many others regards the Sage's very existence as myth.

Obito, in his adulthood, is also shown as a master manipulator, being able to exploit an individual's beliefs and convictions into serving his purposes through direct or indirect manners such as Nagato, Kisame and Sasuke. Likewise he was able to fully assume the identity of Madara Uchiha to manipulate the entire shinobi world into a war due to their fear of the elder Uchiha's abilities. When questioned about why he was going about things in such a roundabout manner by Ōnoki — someone who had witnessed his power first hand — he noted that the fight between "himself" and Hashirama, had left him a shell of his former self.[80]

Other Skills

Aside from his main abilities, Obito is also versed in a few other unorthodox skills. He has displayed high-level surgical skills, able to remove, preserve, and transplant eyes into himself and others. Obito can also easily find others no matter where they are through unknown means.[81] He is also capable of performing a sealing technique, which allows him to separate a tailed beast from its jinchūriki. Obito is also versed in barrier techniques, using one of his clan's barriers that can burn enemies on contact.

Stats

Part II

Kazekage Rescue Arc

After the death of Sasori, Tobi and Zetsu collect Sasori's ring from his body, which Tobi believes will allow him to join the Akatsuki. Finding Deidara after he and Zetsu find the ninja's disembodied ring arm, Tobi's refusal to return the severed limb resulted in him being strangled by Deidara's legs.

Hidan and Kakuzu Arc

Tobi was seen with the other Akatsuki members to seal the Two-Tails from Yugito Nii, previously captured by Hidan and Kakuzu, to the Demonic Statue.

Three-Tails Arc

Soon after being accepted into the Akatsuki as Sasori's replacement, Tobi is made Deidara's new partner while being assigned to capture the Three-Tails. In the anime, they stopped to get a bite to eat at a dango shop during their search. Deidara anxiously waits for Tobi to remove his mask so that he could see what he looked like underneath, but Tobi turned away, hiding his face. When they finish eating they split up. Tobi eventually finds Konoha ninja using the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier and deduces that that the technique was to seal the Three-Tails. He informs Deidara of his discovery and they approach and kill the two ANBU put in charge of the sealing.

When they locate the Three-Tails, Tobi tries to convince Deidara to fight it in his place. While the Three-Tails chases Tobi, Deidara used one of his bombs on it while it was distracted. The rest of the battle goes unseen. After they defeated the Three-Tails, Tobi claims responsibility for the beast's capture, saying his technique was flawless and that it made sense to assign him to the mission. Deidara retorted that Tobi wouldn't have got far without his clay. Tobi fell asleep after making another cheeky comment, much to the anger of Deidara, who "woke him up" by detonating a clay bomb next to him.

When they get the Three-Tails to an Akatsuki base, the Akatsuki members convene and seal it. When they are done they also seal the Two-Tails (the Two-Tails is sealed before the Three-Tails' capture in the anime).

Itachi Pursuit Arc

When the Akatsuki later receives news that Sasuke Uchiha had defeated Orochimaru, Tobi follows a furious Deidara in his intent to kill Sasuke. When they track him down, Tobi greets Sasuke as a distraction while Deidara attacks with his bombs. Sasuke survives the blast and proceeds to run his sword straight through Tobi. After collapsing, Tobi stands up, unfazed yet complimenting Sasuke for the speed of his attack. Tobi provides support to Deidara for the battle's duration, but Sasuke keeps the advantage. Deidara ultimately resorts to using C0 in an effort to kill Sasuke at the loss of his own life. Zetsu reported Tobi's demise to the other Akatsuki members, prompting Pain to remark that he was easily replaceable.

Tobi vows to remind the world of "Madara Uchiha's" power.

However, Tobi survived as he meets with Pain and Konan in Amegakure shortly afterwards and instructs Pain to capture Naruto, the current jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. Seeing an use in Sasuke as Itachi would die soon, Tobi uses his childish facade to hinder the the Konoha ninja sent to find either brother. When Zetsu then arrived to inform him that Sasuke had killed Itachi, having expected that outcome, Tobi gets to Sasuke before the Konoha ninja, taking him away.

Tobi tended to Sasuke's wounds and, when he woke up, offered to tell him about Itachi. Tobi tried to befriend Sasuke by removing his mask and revealing his Sharingan, something that triggered Itachi's Amaterasu in Sasuke's left eye against Tobi. Tobi retreats into the darkness while he puts out the flames, returning with his mask back on to muse about how Itachi never ceased to amaze him.[82] After Sasuke asked what he was talking about, Tobi revealed that Itachi had most likely set it up so that the sight of his Sharingan would trigger the Amaterasu he had sealed within Sasuke. After Sasuke complained that he was making no sense, Tobi revealed that it was to protect him, and, when Sasuke still didn't believe him, Tobi introduced himself as Madara Uchiha. He proceeds to reveal to Sasuke the Uchiha clan's history, Itachi's secret life, and the true reason for the Uchiha Clan Massacre; however, he lied about his involvement with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's attack, saying instead that it was a random natural attack. Sasuke, regretting that he had killed Itachi now that he knew the truth, resolved to destroy Konoha for forcing Itachi into the life he had lived.

Invasion of Pain Arc

Tobi convinced Sasuke and the other members of Taka to start working with Akatsuki, the two groups having Konoha's destruction as a mutual goal. Before they could do that, however, he stated that Akatsuki needed the two remaining tailed beasts. Since Pain was still working on capturing Naruto, Tobi sent Taka to capture the Eight-Tails. After Taka left, Tobi spoke with Zetsu, discussing Akatsuki's actions up to that point. He went on to say that, although they had lost five talented ninja in Akatsuki, all of their efforts had brought him closer to "making Sasuke his".

After Taka captured the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, Killer B, Sasuke gave him to Tobi for Akatsuki to seal. During the extraction process, it was revealed to be a fake: a severed tentacle made to look like Killer B. Tobi remains silent while Kisame - recently made aware of Tobi's identity as the previous Mizukage - commented that Sasuke had been fooled in his attempt to capture the jinchūriki. The tentacle does not go to waste as Tobi seals the tentacle, a fragment of the Eight-Tails' chakra, into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Five Kage Summit Arc

Irritated upon learning of Nagato's failure to capture Naruto and wasting the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique on the Konoha villagers he killed, Tobi sent Kisame to capture Killer B while he catches up to Taka while they were half-way to Konoha. Telling them that Konoha is already in ruins, Tobi convinces Sasuke to follow Zetsu to the Kage Summit in the Land of Iron to kill Danzō, the acting Hokage and a conspirator in the Uchiha's assassination. However, intending to have Sasuke take the Kage hostage for him to facilitate his plans, Tobi instructs Zetsu to expose Taka's presence to the Kage.

Tobi arrives to talk to Naruto.

Finding Naruto also in the Land of Iron, Tobi decides to personally confront the youth to figure out how he caused Nagato to have a change of heart, but was caught by Kakashi Hatake and Yamato. Rather than fight, Tobi told them about the Sage of the Six Paths, the truth of the Uchiha clan, and Sasuke's descent into darkness because of him. They doubt the validity of what he told them, but he persevered while proclaiming that Naruto and Sasuke are destined to fight someday before disappearing.

As Sasuke was about to be killed by the Kage, Tobi rescued him. He sends Sasuke away, sending Karin with him to heal his injuries. Though disappointed that Sasuke was not more of a match for the Kage, Tobi was nevertheless happy by the development of Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan in awakening Susanoo. He then explained his Eye of the Moon Plan to the Kage and those in attendance, concluding by asking for their support by giving him Killer B and Naruto. The Kage refused, so he declared war on them all before disappearing.

Tobi fighting Fū and Torune.

Tobi intercepted Danzō while he was fleeing the Summit, fighting his bodyguards Fū and Torune. Although forced to remove his arm because of Torune's nano-sized, venomous insects, Tobi was easily able to dispose of the two before teleporting Sasuke and Karin to their location so he can honour his promise to the former. Tobi observed the battle and was glad when Sasuke is finally able to fully develop Susanoo. When Sasuke emerges victorious, Tobi approaches the dying Danzō to take Shisui's eye, which was implanted in Danzō's right eye-socket. Danzō activated the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique in an attempt to take Tobi and Sasuke with him, but they are able to get out of range in time. Tobi collects Danzō's body and suggests that Sasuke take some time to rest.

Tobi fixing his arm.

At his lab, Tobi discovers that Danzō destroyed Shisui's Sharingan before he died. Cursing him, Tobi gets a new arm and makes plans to retrieve Nagato's Rinnegan to prepare for war. Before he can leave, Zetsu informs him of Sasuke's fight with his Team 7 team-mates. Arriving after Sasuke clashed with Naruto, Tobi advises that Sasuke come with him to as they can deal with Naruto another time. Once back at the Mountains' Graveyard, at the youth's insistence, Tobi implants Itachi's eyes into Sasuke before leaving him to recuperate.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc

Tobi is soon afterwards confronted by Kabuto, who arrived after mastering his new powers. Remembering that Kabuto was once an Akatsuki spy, Tobi tries to kill him for betraying the organisation. Kabuto responds by using the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection to revive five deceased members of Akatsuki (Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, Nagato, and Kakuzu), a demonstration of the sort of "pawns" he can offer Tobi in the approaching Fourth Shinobi World War. In exchange, Kabuto wants Sasuke.

Tobi being blackmailed into an alliance with Kabuto.

When Tobi asked what would happen if he refused, Kabuto responds by summoning a sixth coffin containing Madara Uchiha. Horrified that Kabuto knows that Madara is actually dead, Tobi is forced to accept an alliance, but sets the condition that Sasuke will not be turned over until after the war. Kabuto agrees and sends the summons away. Still uneasy about the revived Madara, Tobi escorts Kabuto into his hideout so he can assess his battle strength and reformulate his plans for war.

Tobi confronts Konan.

Tobi later infiltrates Amegakure to acquire Nagato's corpse before he immediately confronted by Konan. Tobi tries to buy back her cooperation by informing her of his involvement in Yahiko's creation of Akatsuki and Nagato's receiving the Rinnegan, but she doesn't believe him. Konan turns into paper and engulfs Tobi, hoping to use the exploding tags mingled with her paper in order to sacrifice herself to kill him. However, realising her intent, Tobi is able to warp the explosion away - saving both of their lives at the cost of his right arm with the upper part of his mask is broken. After Konan answers his question while she and Nagato placed their faith in Naruto, Tobi finds himself surrounded by six hundred billion paper explosives. Konan than detonates them all over a period of ten minutes, longer than the five-minute period that Tobi can remain intangible for.

Tobi's broken mask revealing both his Sharingan.

However, to escape the death trap Konan laid out for him, Tobi sacrifices his left Sharingan to use Izanagi and survive the attack while losing the upper left side of his mask in the process. Taking advantage of Konan lowering her guard and thinking she succeeded, Tobi uses a pipe to impale her from behind. Konan attempts a final defensive strike, proclaiming that Naruto will lead them to peace, but Tobi grabs her by the neck as he retorts that he will embrace being the the "darkness" that crushes Naruto's "light". He places her under a genjutsu to force her to reveal Nagato's location and adds that she will die when the illusion ends. When Tobi finds Nagato's body, interpreting the corpse's smile as his continued betrayal, he closes the eyes before teleporting the body away to the other dimension.

Once back at his hideout, Tobi replaces his blinded Sharingan with one of Nagato's Rinnegan while getting a new arm, a new outfit, and a new mask. Kabuto complimented him on his efforts to gain new eyes, but Tobi rebuffed the statement, claiming that they were his to begin with. When they receive intel from Kisame about the current location of the jinchūriki, Tobi decides to go capture them. Kabuto offers to go instead if he is allowed to see the White Zetsu Army, adding that he can makes the army stronger if he is allowed to study one of the Zetsu clones. Tobi complies. Much to Tobi's displeasure, Kabuto fails in capturing either Naruto or B, but does bring back Yamato. After Kabuto convinces him to use a genjutsu and the proper drug to extract intel from Yamato instead of using the Human Path ability, Tobi allows Kabuto to use their captive to strengthen the White Zetsu army.

Shinobi World War Arc

Tobi's forces mobilise.

When preparations are complete the thousands of Zetsus and many of Kabuto's revived ninja mobilise for war. In the confusion, Kabuto also captures Anko Mitarashi. Tobi suspects that Kabuto led her to their hideout and believes Kabuto plans to have him and the Allied Shinobi Forces destroy each other. Although confident that this will not happen, Tobi orders Kabuto to kill Anko. Kabuto refuses on the grounds that he can use Anko to make the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection stronger, something that is in Tobi's best interests.

To alleviate his unease, Tobi demands that Kabuto demonstrate the technique and tell him how to defeat it. To that end he brings out Fū and Torune, who have been kept under genjutsu since they were captured. He breaks Torune's neck and tells Kabuto to use Fū as a sacrifice to resurrect him. Kabuto does what is asked of him.

When Zetsu later informs Tobi that Naruto and B are headed to the battlefield, Tobi decides to finally join the fray. He goes to the location of the First Division where he summons the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. While the Statue decimates the Division, Tobi seeks out the Benihisago and the Kohaku no Jōhei, which contain the Gold and Silver Brothers. Darui and Shikamaru conclude he plans to make use of the brothers' Nine-Tails chakra and try to stop him. He compliments them on guessing his intentions and has the Statue attack them while he escapes with the two items.

As dawn breaks on the following day, Tobi stands behind his own Six Paths of Pain, comprised from the deceased jinchūriki. Tobi leads the Six Paths towards Killer B and Naruto. Naruto headbutts Tobi as soon as they meet, to which Tobi only responds by pointing out that Naruto couldn't even scratch his mask. Naruto notices his new Rinnegan and remarks that it is the same as the "other" Madara's. Realising that Kabuto has revealed his secret, Tobi quietly curses Kabuto before shedding his Madara-identity, embracing the role of "nobody".

Tobi has his Six Paths engage Naruto and a transformed Killer Bee. B devastates the area in an attempt to force Tobi away while he seals the six jinchūriki, which Tobi counters by having the jinchūriki enter Version 2-like forms. As the jinchūriki overwhelm Naruto and B, Tobi takes advantage of Naruto's distraction and nearly captures him, only to be parried by Might Guy and Kakashi Hatake. In the confusion of their appearance, the Five-Tails breaks free of Tobi's control but he promptly subdues it. He then forces the Four-Tails and Six-Tails to fully transform in an attempt to take control of the battle. The Four-Tails is able to swallow Naruto, leading Tobi to believe that Naruto is finally out of commission. Instead, the Four-Tails manages to communicate to Naruto how Tobi is controlling it. Naruto escapes from its mouth, locates the chakra receiver embedded in the Four-Tails' flesh, and removes it.

With the Four-Tails free, Tobi quickly summons the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to reseal the beast. He has the remaining jinchūriki transform into their respective tailed beasts to try and finally bring the situation under his control. Despite the overwhelming power of the five tailed beasts, Naruto, working in full cooperation with the Nine-Tails, is able to neutralise all of them and free them from Tobi's influence. Like the Four-Tails, Tobi seals them back into the Statue. Despite the setbacks, Tobi remains confident that he will emerge victorious.

Sometime later, the revived bodies of the jinchūriki, having been kept restrained by a transformed Killer B, are released from the effects of the Impure World Resurrection, causing them to once again become lifeless corpses. As this could only mean that Kabuto has failed, Tobi realises that time is running out. With no other option he tosses the Benihisago and the Kohaku no Jōhei into the Demonic Statue's mouth which, in addition to the Eight-Tails' tentacle from the fake Killer B, completes the set of the nine tailed beasts, initiating the Ten-Tails' revival.

While the Demonic Statue undergoes its metamorphosis, Tobi protects it from Naruto, B, Guy, and Kakashi. Despite their combined efforts they are unable to get past Tobi or damage him. Tobi is even able to turn some of their own attacks against them, such as a lightning-infused kunai that Kakashi is forced to send away with Kamui. After this latter exchange, however, Kakashi notices that Tobi's mask takes damage. Unable to attribute the damage to any of their attacks, Kakashi tests a theory: after Tobi erects a barrier around the Statue, Naruto tries to hit him with a Rasengan. When the attack appears to pass through Tobi, Kakashi hits the Rasengan with Kamui, causing damage to Tobi's arm. Kakashi concludes that his Kamui and Tobi's Space–Time Migration share the same dimension; that attacks sent to the dimension at the same moment that Tobi has transported his body parts there for safety will do damage to Tobi.

Now that they have a strategy to use against Tobi, Naruto, B, Guy, and Kakashi begin to coordinate their efforts. One of Naruto's shadow clones attacks Tobi, but the attack appears to fail and the clone disappears. The real Naruto attacks immediately afterwards with a Tailed Beast Ball, which Tobi avoids by retreating to the other dimension. There he finds Naruto's shadow clone waiting for him, having been sent there by Kakashi's Kamui. Before he has a chance to react he is hit in the face with a Rasengan, shattering his mask. His face revealed, Kakashi and Guy recognise him as their old comrade, Obito Uchiha. Guy, surprised with Obito's presence, wonders how he is still alive, while Kakashi confirmed it to be his former team-mate upon seeing both his Mangekyō Sharingan and a visibly crushed right face. When asked how he survived, Obito dodged the question and instead reveals his motivation; Kakashi's inability to save Rin, leading Obito to hate the reality they live in. As Kakashi hesitated to continue, Naruto instead rallied ahead to stop Obito, who promptly attacks with a fire technique. Right after Naruto intercepts the technique with Kurama's tails, Madara Uchiha arrives to Obito's side of the battlefield.

Striking up a conversation, the two Uchiha casually ignore their opponents. Obito eventually gave Madara his gunbai, in time for him to deflect several of the giant chakra receivers thrown at them. He is then left to deal with Kakashi and Might Guy as Madara goes after Naruto and Killer B. When questioned about what had happened to him, Obito remembered when he first met Madara after he saved his life during the previous ninja war.

Trivia

Tobi can be translated as "jump" (飛), or as "kite" (鳶). The latter translation connects Tobi with Taka through the Japanese proverb "a hawk born from a kite" (鳶が鷹を生む, tobi ga taka o umu), meaning that an extraordinarily gifted child can be born from ordinary parents.

One of Obito's mask as Tobi appears in the ending omake of Naruto: Shippūden episode 129 along with Baki's face and Haku's mask.

Quotes

(To Kakashi) "Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash! If I'm going to be called trash either way, I'd rather break the rules! And if that somehow makes me anything less than a real shinobi, then I'll crush all of the so-called "real" shinobi!"[84]

(To Kakashi) "I'm about to… die… but I'll become your eye… and see the future with you."[85]

(Before his presumed death) "Just when me and Kakashi were becoming friends… I couldn't bring myself to confess to Rin… I wish I had more time with everyone…"[86]

(To Pain and Konan) "The true power of the Sharingan… this is Madara Uchiha's power!" (写輪眼の本当の力が… このうちはマダラの力が!, "Sharingan no hontō no chikara ga… kono Uchiha Madara no chikara ga!")[91]

(Thinking to himself) "The moment people come to know love, they run the risk of carrying hate."[92]

(To the Five Kage) "The concept of hope is nothing more than giving up. A word that holds no true meaning."[93]

(To Naruto and Killer B) "The war has already begun… My name no longer matters. You can call me by my old name, Tobi, if you prefer. Madara, Tobi… call me whatever you want."[34]

(To Naruto and Killer B) " I'm no one… I don't want to be anyone. All I care about is completing the Eye of the Moon Plan. This world is completely worthless...there is nothing left in it but misery."[94]

(To Kakashi) "You've seen reality, you should be able to understand… No wish can become true in this world. That's why I'm pursuing the dream of infinite Tsukuyomi. I want to build a world where heroes don't have to make pitiful excuses in front of graves."[95]

(To Kakashi) "It's pointless to blame this worthless reality. I'm not interested in this world, since it's going to disappear."[96]